PATIENCE EQUALS SALVATION

2 Peter 3:15 “Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation…”

Here’s an interesting question. What behavior comes first, patience or impatience? Do we start out full of patience and understanding, only to, over time, become restless and hasty. Or, are we innately anxious? Do we have to learn and develop patience as we grow? It’s a tougher question than you think. You can refer to infants, crying the moment they are hungry, or wet, or tired. Is it impatience or just that fact that crying is the only means they have for communication? Every child is different, so who knows? Parents are also a very good measuring stick. Have you ever said or heard someone say to their child, “I’m losing my patience with you!”? Losing your patience is kind of like losing your temper. Losing your patience is really just the revelation of your impatience just like losing your temper is, in actuality, really just discovering that it’s been there all the time. No matter what comes first, it would seem that impatience manifests itself much more freely than patience even though it is patience that always produces a lasting beneficial result.

The greatest example of patience is God himself. The bible is jam packed with accounts of His patience with mankind. He was patient with Abraham and Lot as it pertained to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. He was patient with the Israelites in the wilderness time and time again. He was patient with King David through many of his impulses and failures. There is no question that his patience for all of us is driven by his indescribable love for you and me. Think about it. Are we not much more patient with our family than we are strangers?

As I look over my life, I am ever more grateful for the patience and mercy of God. Much like the children of Israel or King David, I have failed and deserved immediate reprimand. Yet God, in his tender mercy, has been patient. Often times simply nudging me by the spirit in the proper direction. Peter writes that God’s patience means salvation. Salvation is not what we deserve. Based on our own sinfulness, we deserve judgment. But God is patient because God is love. The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13 that “love is patient”. Although, God’s anger towards me would be justified so many times, his love is an overriding power. He looks upon us with mercy.

This reality ought to lead us into a greater attitude of thankfulness to him. In light of his patience towards us, let us not take for granted such love. Live life as though it is a gift. Don’t try his patience, but love and honor him with your choices in life. It is his patience that offers salvation to us all. Know that God has spared us what we truly deserve. He has delivered us from the evilness of our own deeds. Let that truth motivate your commitment to him. Let it empower you into a life of victory and destiny.